"Women-Owned Businesses Utilize AI at One-Thirtieth the Rate of Men"... Policy Proposal to National Assembly to Bridge Technology Gap

On July 7, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) Women's Business Committee held its second meeting at the KCCI headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, and submitted a policy proposal to the National Assembly aimed at closing the technology gap for women-owned businesses. The meeting was attended by Lee Inseon, Chairperson of the National Assembly Gender Equality and Family Committee, Jeon Jinsook, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, Cho Eunhee, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, and about 40 women entrepreneurs.

At the meeting, the committee emphasized the urgent need for scale-up support policies based on new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, pointing out that although women-owned businesses account for 41% of all companies, only 3.2% of them utilize technologies related to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The committee also highlighted that the technology utilization rate among women-owned businesses is only one-thirtieth that of male-owned businesses, and their research and development (R&D) experience rate is just 4.2%, indicating significant challenges in achieving qualitative growth. Under the Act on Support for Women-Owned Businesses, a women-owned business is defined as one that is substantially owned and managed by a woman.

Jung Kiok, Chairperson of the KCCI Women's Business Committee, stated, "The number of women-owned businesses is growing by more than 5% annually, but their technological and innovation capabilities remain stagnant," adding, "There needs to be policy coordination at the government and National Assembly level to support scale-up, going beyond just startup support." Lee Inseon, the committee chair, said, "We will continue to provide legislative support to protect the rights and interests of women entrepreneurs and to realize social value."

The committee presented three key tasks in its 'Policy Proposal for Scaling Up Women-Owned Businesses' released that day: establishing support systems for childcare and caregiving, supporting digital transformation, and improving access to finance. The proposal was based on feedback collected through 'Sople,' a communication platform operated by the KCCI with input from over 2,500 women.

The biggest challenge faced by women entrepreneurs was identified as the issue of work-family balance, such as childcare and household responsibilities (28.9%). This was followed by social prejudice and discrimination (22.0%), lack of management experience (18.9%), and difficulties in developing markets and sales channels (17.0%). When asked about the most important factor for strengthening competitiveness, 42.5% of respondents cited expertise, including technological capability and quality.

The committee pointed out that women CEOs are excluded from benefits such as maternity and parental leave simply because they are not classified as employees, and proposed improvement measures such as support for substitute labor costs, tax payment deferrals, priority admission to public workplace childcare centers, and linkage with local care services. Kim Hayoun, CEO of Nanum Vitamin, said, "It is necessary to provide care support for women CEOs and to ease the initial burden of digital transformation."

Regarding digital transformation, the committee noted that more than 80% of women-owned businesses are sole proprietorships or small-scale self-employed businesses, and their adoption rate of new technologies is low. Accordingly, the committee stressed the need for customized support, including the introduction of AI and robotics, the establishment of smart transformation packages exclusively for women-owned businesses, and digital marketing education tailored to each industry.

Kwon Woosil, CEO of Startfolio, said, "Digital transformation based on advanced technologies such as AI and robotics is the most urgent issue for women-owned businesses," adding, "If support is made more concrete in line with the government's new industry policy direction, it will also help to vitalize technology-based startups among women-owned businesses."

In terms of access to finance, the committee revealed that half of women-owned businesses are unaware of the 'women-owned business certification system,' and the utilization rate of policy finance is only 18.9%. The committee proposed measures such as the creation of guarantee and investment products exclusively for women-owned businesses, gender sensitivity training for financial institution staff, and media campaigns to improve awareness of women-owned businesses.

Park Iljun, Executive Vice Chairman of the KCCI, stated, "Despite the expansion of women-owned businesses, there are still institutional gaps in the areas of technology, finance, and caregiving," adding, "We will strive to reflect the policy needs of women-owned businesses in the system through communication with the National Assembly and the government."

Meanwhile, at the meeting, Chun Hongseok, CEO of Twini, a company developing autonomous robots, gave a lecture, saying, "Autonomous robots that can navigate indoor spaces without GPS can dramatically increase productivity in logistics, distribution, and service sectors," and added, "AI-based robotics technology will provide practical help in reducing the labor burden and increasing work efficiency for women-owned businesses."